Portage Road car accidents continue into March

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- A ditch on Portage Road has continued to be a problem for drivers and homeowners. St. Joseph County engineers said the road was not on their list to pave for 2014, however they are looking into the problem area.

Neighbors said there's a wreck or slide-off in the 5500 block of Portage Road every time it snows.

Char Sarratore said, "There hasn’t been a fatality yet as long as we’ve been here, but it’s only a matter of time.”

Recently the county has been plowing the side of Portage Road so drivers can see the six inch drop-off during the day.

Neighbors said after media reports in January they saw a decrease in wrecks on their road. However in the past week, it appears to be a problem again.

“It has caught both of our cars and spun us sideways and we even live right here and watch it all the time! Cars will just be driving along and we will be standing right there and they will go in the ditch,” Sarratore said.

Around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, firefighters responded to a wreck in that area where a truck had flipped onto its side.

Engineers for St. Joseph County have requested crash reports from MACOG and they are looking into putting a hazard sign on that block.